April 26, 2021
Ken McEwan K.C. was recently interviewed by the Lawyer’s Daily concerning our firm’s successful certification of a class action against the Province on behalf of inmates held in solitary confinement. The article, in which Ken discussed the action, the first claim for damages in British Columbia in respect of the practice, is found here.
Ken McEwan told Lawyer’s Daily the use of segregation and solitary confinement has increasingly come to be seen as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. “If you are being held 22 hours in isolation it doesn’t take long before people are almost universally suffering from psychological issues — just think about the isolation COVID-19 has created and its consequences,” he said. “[Segregation] is inhumane …. there are other ways to deal with people in custody.”